Congregations prepare to invite people Back to Church

Churchgoers in Sussex are gearing themselves up to invite friends back to church as part of an international venture in September.

People in churches all over the Chichester diocese are joining congregations across Britain and, for the first time, in other parts of the world, to support Back to Church Sunday this September 28th by giving personal invitations to friends to come back to church with them.

Thirty eight Church of England dioceses from Cornwall to Newcastle will join with Churches Together in Scotland, the Church in Wales, Baptist, Methodist and United Reformed churches nationwide, Elim Pentecostal churches and Anglican churches in New Zealand and Canada.

It is the first year the diocese has registered to take part in Back to Church Sunday, though some churches have already tried out the basic idea in the past couple of years.

It all began in Manchester in 2004 with the message ‘Missing You’, and spread to Wakefield in 2005, nine Church of England dioceses in 2006 and 20 in 2007, when 20,000 people came back to church in one day.

The 2008 resources centre on a special and personal invitation, with a place card bearing the emblem ‘VIP’.

“The main thrust of Back to Church Sunday is for those who have been to church at some point in their lives, and then drifted away,” explained Diocesan Communications Officer the Revd David Guest. “The idea is designed to reach those coming back and those who are curious with a simple personal invitation and a warm wlecome.

“The experience of those running it is, ‘each one to reach one’ - not as a big mission event, but individuals inviting one person back on a particular Sunday.”

Several parishes have already signed up to take part in the venture, with many linking it to other events taking place in churches over the weekend.

“For us as a diocese this year’s Back to Church Sunday is also part of a broader vision, where we are encouraging congregations to think about the life of their church and its mission, looking at how we attend to God, how we build Christian community, and how we commend God’s love for the world,” added diocesan evangelist, Captain Gordon Banks. “There will also be a celebration and expression of our life together as a diocese at a big event in Brighton on June 21st called Caritas.”

The venture is supported by Traidcraft, which produces fairly traded and environmentally friendly resources for churches to advertise their invitation and welcome. Local churches buy a Back to Church pack, with invitations, posters, prayer cards, balloons, welcome team tshirts, with ‘friendly feedback’ cards for newcomers. Participating dioceses and denominations are additionally supported with multimedia training resources and ‘top tips’ style factsheets to use in ‘welcome workshops’ over the summer.

For further information please contact the Revd David Guest or Capt Gordon Banks at Church House, telephone (01273) 421021

For more see: www.backtochurch.co.uk